


Calling Card

by tentglitch



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Metaverse (Persona 5), M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:02:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25340572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tentglitch/pseuds/tentglitch
Summary: A mysterious thief has been stealing various prized artifacts and possessions throughout Tokyo lately. It's up to ace detective Goro Akechi and his new partner Akira Kurusu to try and unmask this thief. But this thief may end up stealing something they never intended to, a heart.
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro & Persona 5 Protagonist, Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 11
Kudos: 50





	1. Chapter 1

It was a warm Summer's night in Tokyo. The skies were brightly lit with the afterglow from street lamps, billboards, and the like. The normal, busy nightlife of the city started to wane as the AM hours approached. The only ones who dared to stay out much longer were drunks and shady characters. However, one person stood apart from the dangerous and deceitful general public at this hour. 

A dark masked figure approached the Ueno museum with poise and conviction. They traversed through shadows to avoid detection, unlike others that bathed in the city's light. Instead of entering through the main entrance, they turned to the alley and quickly located a fire escape of an apartment building.

The figure took a few steps back and then took a running jump, just a few feet before the wall in front of them. Their hands grasped a bar at the bottom of the fire escape and they quickly pulled themselves up. They then quietly traversed up the fire escape until they managed to reach an area that was level with the museum's roof. The roof wasn't their goal though, instead they sought to enter through a ventilation shaft. A grated opening was located a few feet under the roof, it was barely big enough for a person to enter through.

 _Good enough._ The figure thought before taking another running leap towards the building. 

Just as they thought, their trajectory was perfect. They managed to grab onto a ledge that lead to the grate and they pulled themselves up until they could rest on their stomach. 

They then pulled out a screwdriver that they had been carrying and carefully unscrewed the grate. They placed the grate and screws to the side and hoisted their full body onto the ledge before shimmying their way into the ventilation shaft. 

They had been studying the museum's blueprints and exhibit locations for a month so they knew exactly where to go. They made light and precise movements throughout the system, trying to avoid making too much noise and the shaft collapsing altogether. Of course there was no way to completely avoid noise, but it could easily be disguised as other occurrences when movement was articulated well enough.

The process was arduous but the figure finally made it to their desired location. They reached for their screwdriver again and removed the grate that was in their way, allowing them access to one of the few rooms without cameras in the museum. They gracefully rolled out of the shaft and onto the bathroom floor before taking a moment to regain composure and prepare for the next portion of their operation.

They glanced at their watch and studied it for a moment. They had been studying the cameras that were just beyond the door for weeks in advance, trying to calculate the perfect interval of time where both the room's camera's couldn't see them. The interval was roughly 30 seconds, shocking for a museum containing such priceless artifacts but those few crucial seconds passed by quickly.

It was almost midnight, the camera's reset their positions at the beginning of every hour. The masked figure had to time their next few moves perfectly. Unfortunately, they had to make it through two other rooms before reaching their destination which would be the most secure. There was a high chance of failure but the figure knew what they were doing, they just had to not crumble under the pressure.

Their watch struck midnight and they slowly opened the door and quickly scanned the area for the path they needed to traverse. After 6 seconds the figure began to make their move. They mainly moved by walking while crouched and occasionally rolling to cover when they needed to. They weaved through different pieces of art and structures of the building from room to room until they finally made it to their objective.

They rolled into a small blind-spot in a corner of the doorway and breathed a sigh of relief. They had executed their plan perfectly so far, but the next part of their operation was the most crucial. Their eyes quickly darted to the room's centerpiece, a crown concealed inside a glass case on a pedestal in the middle of the room. 

The crown's design was European but it belonged to an emperor of Japan by the name of Kamoshida. He had an obsession with European culture and often dressed like their kings. He was an utter bastard of lust, often keeping multitudes of female servants by his side and physically harassing anyone who got in his way. After his reign came to an end, historians who were victims of his punishments refused to document any information about him. This was to spite the king as they knew that his ego would crave remembrance beyond the grave. Only few artifacts from Kamoshida's reign have made it to the present, this crown being the most valuable of all his possessions.

This was what the figure wanted to obtain. The price of the crown was unknown, as it was never intended to be sold. However, such a deduction could be quickly made by wealthy nobles who desired gaudy possessions.

The soon-to-be thief gazed upon the room, careful not to leave the blind spot they secured. There was only one camera in this room due to it's small perimeter, but it also moved very little, leaving minimal room for any opportunity. However this opportunity was still present, there were roughly 15 seconds that the thief could act within without being seen. Luckily there was a statue of "King" Kamoshida nearby the crown that they could return to for consistent cover when they needed it. Patience would definitely be required for this mission, as the thief would have to constantly be moving to and from cover. 

They retrieved the screwdriver they had made use of so many times this mission, and when the camera was averted from their direction, darted toward their cover. Once behind the statue, they enacted the heinous process of slowly unscrewing a rectangular portion of the back of the pedestal.

Once they were done, they quickly grabbed the crown and placed it in their bag once under cover of the statue. They paused their intervals for a moment to catch their breath. Their heart was pounding heavily and their hands were shaking wildly. They were almost done. The nearly successful thief retrieved a red and black card adorning a logo of a mask wearing a top hat from their coat pocket. This would be the only hard evidence that they would be leaving behind. They took a moment to calm themselves before proceeding once more.

The thief waited for the proper time and returned to the pedestal. They placed the card where the crown once was and went back to slowly screwing in the back of the pedestal in intervals. 

After they finished, they now carefully fled the scene using the same route they came from. They used the same intervals from before and screwed back in grates of ventilation shafts. They made it back to the outside of the building and leaped onto the ground from the ledge they were on. Then they quickly dashed into the alley and changed into a pair of clothes they had been keeping in their bag.

The thief, the masked figure, now an everyday man, joined the wandering souls of the night. He grinned, satisfied with his accomplishment, and returned to his home. Traversing through the streets, surrounded by those who didn't know who he was or of the grand crime he had just committed.


	2. Chapter 2

The following morning was filled with a buzz of commotion. The blaring of sirens. The drone of reporters on various billboards. The shocked gasps and murmurs of onlookers and museum-goers. However, one particular man managed to keep a casual and collected demeanor in all the panic of the post-robbery.

Goro Akechi traced the edges of the briefcase that lay on his lap with his index finger. As a head detective of Tokyo's police department, he was usually assigned to cases such as this one. Robberies, kidnappings, murders, and others that typically involved an unknown culprit or method that couldn't easily be deduced.

"I'm assuming we'll be the first to investigate the scene?" Akechi asked curiously, unable to stand the stiffening silence of the car ride.

"That's right. Other than those who initially reported the robbery, we'll be the first. You were specifically requested for the occasion as well. It seems this crown is very valuable... and that you have quite the reputation." Sae confirmed.

As head of the criminal justice department, Sae didn't often come along to investigate crime scenes unless if it was dire or it interested her. It struck Akechi as odd that she chose to accompany him today. He had normally made most of the deductions when investigating crime scenes anyway, so all he really needed were a few officers for backup in case something were to happen. He figured he'd stay silent for now though, Sae was fairly open with him. If she desired to discuss why she chose to join him today, she probably would fairly soon.

"Oh by the way..."

and there it was.

"The reason I'm here is to retrieve the last of Kurusu's paperwork. Then I have to return to the station for the rest of the day." she finished.

"Kurusu?"Akechi asked rather cluelessly.

"Akira Kurusu, he's the detective from Inaba who'll be transferring to our department today. Sorry, I thought I had told you his name. He'll be working with you on this case." She explained.

"Oh? This will be my first time working with a partner." Akechi admitted with a smile. Sae knew him too well however, and instantly caught on to his false positivity.

"A bit of companionship isn't the end of the world, Akechi-kun. He's typically quiet but has a brilliant mind. He's quite busy as well. He apparently already owns a café in Yongen despite only being in Tokyo for a week." Sae paused.

"To have two vital and time-consuming jobs and to perform them with such ease... it's quite fascinating actually." She remarked as a smile crept onto her lips.

The car reached the museum and the two gazed upon the building. As they began to ascend the steps, Akechi was already noting several of the details regarding the building's current exterior. 

The windows were all still intact.

There was only one entrance visible from the front.

There was a fire escape on the west side of a building next to the museum. It was several feet off of the ground though.

Akechi's brows furrowed as he thought for a moment.

"There's a possibility our thief is quite the acrobat." Akechi noted aloud and Sae smirked.

"I don't know how you do it sometimes, we haven't even seen the crime scene yet." she remarked as the two entered the building.

"Sae-san, this whole building serves as a culmination of the crime scene. We should study every plausible action that could've taken place here last night."

"I suppose you're right. Maybe you should take me under your wing." Sae joked with a slight smile. 

As Akechi and Sae entered the crown room, they saw three police officers, a deeply concerned museum director, and a young dark haired man taking notes by the pedestal. 

"Kursu-kun. I'd like you to meet Goro Akechi, he'll be serving as your superior for this case." Sae stated and the dark haired man turned around.

He looked like he was around the same age as Akechi. His head was adorned with messy black hair and a pair of glasses. When he turned he looked over at Akechi and bowed politely.

"I'm Akira Kurusu. I'm looking forward to working with you Akechi-san."

"As am I. I noticed you were writing earlier, are you perhaps taking notes? I'd be interested in seeing the deductions you've made so far." Akechi said with a polite smile. He still wasn't really excited about having a partner for the case. However, he figured he should at least take Sae's word for the man's intelligence and skill. Perhaps this arrangement wouldn't be as dreadful as he thought it'd be.

"I understand you two need to get to work but I'd like the last of your paperwork before you do so Kurusu-kun." Sae commented and Akira nodded. He reached into his bag, pulled out a file, handed it to her, and after goodbyes were said she left the museum.

Akira then began to review what he had discovered about the case with Akechi.

The thief didn't break anything in the museum. This includes any part of the structure, the artwork, or the cameras.

The crown was the thief's sole objective. No other pieces of art were stolen.

And most importantly, there wasn't a single trace of evidence left behind other than a red and black card left inside the display case. 

"It's odd. They even went to the trouble of closing the case again afterwards. I talked to the director about it and the only way you can do so is via screwdriver. The fact that they chose to do things this way brings up way too many questions..." Akira trailed off as he began to think again.

"You mentioned cameras earlier, was there anything useful documented on them?"

"The director wouldn't let me look at the footage. I even showed him my badge and told him I was apart of the police department; but he insisted that only the person he requested should see the footage... is that person you?" Akira asked and Akechi sighed.

"According to Sae-san, yes. Please excuse me for one moment." Akechi stated and approached the museum director who was anxiously wringing his hands on the other side of the Kamoshida statue.

"Ex-"

"Oh! Akechi-san! It's so horrible! I don't know what I'm going to do! Emperor Kamoshida's crown was our most prized possession! I-!"

"Please sir, calm down. We'll figure this out and retrieve your crown. Might my... partner and I please see any footage captured on last night's recordings?" Akechi asked and the museum director nodded.

"Wh-why yes of course, my apologies. Please come with me." the museum director stated, attempting to regain composure.

As the group walked to the security room, the detectives bombarded the museum director with an assortment of questions.

"Do you happen to have any night guards at this museum?"

"No."

"How's security here?"

"We have a state of the art alarm system that alerts the police of any intrusion detected in the museum's lobby from 8 PM to 8 AM."

"What would classify as an intrusion under this alarm system?" 

"We have motion sensors in the lobby that turn on during off hours that trigger the alarm after sensing even the slightest bit of movement."

Akira scribbled down some more notes as the group finally approached the security room. The museum director unlocked the doors and allowed the detectives to enter.

"Over here." the museum director stated, gesturing towards a series of monitors and a corresponding keyboard.

He pulled up the footage from the previous night from multiple cameras and let it play. The footage was sped up so that they wouldn't have to watch it for hours on end but it was enough to where any distinct movement could be made out. 

Nothing was happening for a while until a change had suddenly occurred on the monitor showing the crown room footage.

"Hold on, pause the footage." Akechi said and the director did so.

"Now rewind it a few seconds."

Akechi paused for a moment.

"Play it again."

The director did so.

"Now pause... look right there." Akechi stated and gestured towards the Kamoshida statue.

"Look carefully at the shadows the statue casts, there's an additional one by it that wasn't there before." he pointed out.

"What are you implying Akechi-san?" the director asked.

"Not only is this the time that the culprit struck, it also tells us that the culprit is concerned with being seen on the cameras. They're hiding behind the statue while the camera is capturing the crown." Akechi explained.

"Hmm..." Akira muttered to himself and furrowed his brow as he began to think.

The footage continued and the process of the thief meticulously and slowly removing the glass case off-camera was unveiled. Not once was the thief themselves actually caught on camera other than their shadow. 

"That's all there is." The director stated.

"Interesting... Kurusu, let's continue with the investigation." Akechi said and Akira nodded.

The two left the security room and began investigating again. One with only a margin of an idea and one who knew exactly what had happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter I've written in advance so updates may be a little further apart from here on out. Thanks for all the kudos and comments so far, I really appreciate the support :)


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